The wife of the foreign minister of Oman is suing a high-class London casino for losing money at its gambling tables. Nora Al-Daher racked up a near-$3.5-million loss in the casino of one of London's most exclusive hotels, The Ritz. She blew the cash in just a few hours and then blamed staff at the hotel for not stopping her. The 50-year-old multi-millionaire insisted it was the casino's fault that she lost as they knew she had a gambling problem. She told the judge at the High Court in London: "I needed someone that night to tell me to stop playing and bring me to my senses. If I had been told to stop, of course I would have done so immediately, but no one ever told me to stop or to think about my gambling."

Ms Al-Daher told the court how she had arrived at The Ritz that evening already having lost a "significant" amount of money at other London casinos. The case reached the High Court after The Ritz sued Ms Al-Daher for almost $1.5 million for her cheques that had not been honoured. Al-Daher said she realised she had become a gambling addict in 1999 and then lost more than $10 million at The Ritz over the following three years. Her lawyer told the court that casino staff urged her to lose money, saying: "Staff positively encouraged her when she was losing, saying, 'Anything for you, Princess Nora. We trust you. No problem. Relax. Don't worry…The next time you will get your money back'."